This Sept. 14, 2009, file photo, shows ESPN broadcaster Jon Gruden before an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. (Associated Press)

ESPN analyst Jon Gruden offered up his thoughts on the New Orleans Saints during a Wednesday conference call for ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast crew.

When asked about his thoughts on the job his friend and Saints coach Sean Payton has done with his team’s offense, Gruden didn’t hold back the praise calling the Saints a “well lubricated machine” and a “factory.”

“I still think the New Orleans Saints are the team to beat in the NFC this year,” Jon Gruden said. “I really like what they’ve done in the offseason and I think [Drew] Brees takes care of the ball and they take care of that turnover margin, I think they’re on their way back to the NFC championship.”

In reference to Payton’s play-calling abilities, Gruden said Payton is among a handful of guys that are outstanding.

“I think Sean has done a tremendous job working with Mickey Loomis. I think that’s the real strength behind the scene is his working relationship with Mickey Loomis. Their ability to develop players, undrafted guys (Pierre Thomas, Lance Moore), late round draft choices like [Marques] Coleston, getting free agents (Drew Brees, Jeremy Shockey, [Darren] Sharper) and making trades (Jonathan Vilma) you name it. They made a lot of tremendous moves and made them work,” Jon Gruden said.

The early favorite for the NFC among the media chatter has, of course, been Michael Vick and his “dream team” with the Philadelphia Eagles. Defending Super Bowl champions Green Bay can’t be excluded from the conversation, of course. But no one is really talking about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They’ve got a young, talented team and a real shot at winning the NFC South.

That being said, it’s entirely possible to see the New Orleans Saints back in the NFC championship game and – depending on how the team performs this season – back in the Super Bowl.

Kentucky or UConn? Butler or VCU? This lovable dog has made his 2011 NCAA Tournament Final Four picks, and says ...

March is over and March Madness has neared its end, but the 2011 NCAA Tournament Final Four just wouldn’t be complete without picks and predictions from our favorite prognosticating dog.

After a long winter’s nap — and a botched Super Bowl prediction — Buddy the Beagle is back to make things right with his 2011 NCAA Tournament Final Four predictions. The world waits in anticipation to learn if this perky pet picks Kentucky or UConn, Butler or VCU.

Gamblers, take note: This little dog is as cute as can be, but he’s as reliable as a coin flip and has a penchant for pizza thievery.

Regardless, please watch the video and tell me: Do you believe the beagle?

A young fan checks out the welcome signs at the main entrance during ESPN The Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Street and Smith’s Sports Business Daily is reporting that ESPN and the NFL “have agreed to broad terms on a new media rights deal that will be worth nearly $2 billion per year.”

According to the report, the deal currently does not include the NFL playoffs or Super Bowl. And that thud you just heard is the sound of every NFLPA member hitting a wall.

Just a few days ago, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sends an e-mail to NFL fans stroking the violin of sympathy about how hard the league is working to avoid a 2011 NFL lockout. Now, we’re talking about a $2 billion television deal? Keep in mind, this is just one contract and this one doesn’t even include the Super Bowl, which is a multi-million grossing event all by itself.

According to the article, “Even before this negotiation, ESPN was paying the league much more than any of the NFL’s other TV partners. ESPN’s annual payout of $1.1 billion dwarfs the annual rights fees paid by Fox ($720 million), CBS ($620 million) and NBC ($603 million). DirecTV pays about $1 billion a year for exclusive access to Sunday Ticket.”

And here’s another interesting fact. Last May, Anheuser-Busch CEO Dave Peacock said the brewer of Budweiser signed a deal worth $1.2 billion to be the league’s sole beer sponsor thus kicking Coors Light out of the picture. However, it should be known that beer companies can still negotiate individual contracts per market, hence Miller Lite is the official beer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys.

“Economic conditions, however, have changed dramatically inside and outside the NFL since 2006 when we negotiated the last CBA. A 10 percent unemployment rate hurts us all. Fans have limited budgets and rightly want the most for their money. I get it,” Goodell said in his earlier e-mail. “Yes, NFL players deserve to be paid well. Unfortunately, economic realities are forcing everyone to make tough choices and the NFL is no different.”

Yeah, the NFL is facing tough times alright. So those whiny NFL players should stop complaining about health care and salaries. Take your paycut, play more games and shut-up.

Dan Connolly’s 71-yard kickoff return Sunday for the New England Patriots is by far the most entertaining moment of the 2010 NFL season. What’s not to love about an offensive lineman running down the field full speed carrying the football like a newborn baby?

Dan Connolly, who set the record for the longest kickoff return by an offensive lineman since 1969, was more than deserving to be named the AFC special teams player of the week. That being said, Devin Hester easily had the best overall special teams performance in the NFL last week.

Devin Hester, a University of Miami alum, set the NFL record for combined return touchdowns when he scored on a 64-yard punt return in the third quarter during a 40-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings Monday. He accomplished the feat in 73 NFL games.

After the game, Hester got emotional during post game interviews when talking about his college coaches at the University of Miami.

“Everything I’m thinking about, it’s coming to me. Coming out of college, coaches told me I wasn’t gonna be nothing but a kickoff and punt return dude. I wasn’t gonna ever earn a position in the league.

“But I’m here today to say that I am a kickoff and punt returner, but at the same time, the best to ever do it. I’m glad that they said that because right now, I can say today that Chicago Bears are the best punt return team that would ever do this. And we’re not gonna stop on this one return. It’s gonna be plenty more. It’s gonna be a lot more than this. I guarantee you that.”

So who had the more impressive special teams record-setting performance to you? Dan Connolly or Devin Hester?

Buddy the Beagle is a lazy dog, but he had enough energy to pick tonight's winner between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans on Monday Night Football. He said the winner will be ...

Buddy the Beagle is bundling up, searching for the warmest spot he can find to watch tonight’s Monday Night Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans (sorry Giants and Vikings fans, he won’t be watching your rescheduled game in Detroit).

The lovable (and sometimes laughable) dog ventured into the Florida “chill” this morning to make his Ravens vs. Texans prediction. He said tonight’s winner will be …

P.S. You can follow Buddy on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. You can also follow along on his adventures throughout the entire NFL season. Here’s a recap of how he has fared, with links back to his earlier predictions.

Buddy the Beagle picks the winner of tonight's Jets vs. Patriots Monday Night Football game and mocks last week's rant by Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson.

Derek Anderson’s sense of humor was gone by the finish of last week’s Arizona Cardinals loss to the San Francisco 49ers. But despite falling to 7-6, Buddy the Beagle was in much better spirits.

Perhaps it’s because tonight’s Monday Night Football game between the New York Jets and New England Patriots is a much-needed makeup for last week’s dog.

So who will win tonight’s Jets vs. Patriots showdown? Buddy the Beagle said …

P.S. You can follow Buddy on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. You can also follow along on his adventures throughout the entire NFL season. Here’s a recap of how he has fared, with links back to his earlier predictions.

ESPN often finds itself in uncharted celebrity journalism territory. The company’s more visible talent is rife with former athletes and coaches who can provide unique perspective and insight.

But things get a little sticky when the news providers become the news makers — enter the alleged Jon Gruden interview for the University of Miami football position.

Multiple reports have surfaced that Gruden, a Monday Night Football analyst for ESPN, is scheduled to meet with the Miami athletic director sometime this week, most likely Wednesday, Dec. 1.

Obviously, this is awkward for Gruden because you never want to tell your current girlfriend that you’re entertaining the idea of leaving her. Hence, Gruden’s cryptic non-denial denial tweet Monday addressing the coaching rumors.

But there is another level of awkwardness for the ESPN reporters who have to cover their co-worker’s potential new job. Joe Schad, a former Orlando Sentinel employee, broke the news today that a “source close to the search said Tuesday night that Miami expects to speak with Gruden, who other Miami sources have indicated is still the Hurricanes’ top choice.”

Here’s the pink elephant in the room that isn’t being addressed. ESPN surely doesn’t want to get beat on its own story, but how do you balance the line when employees are being put in the position to cover co-workers?

There’s no doubt Jon Gruden’s potential departure for the University of Miami job is headline sports news. But it’s debatable if ESPN should be covering this or if the company should back off as it has in the past when it comes to employees.

On one hand, if ESPN consistently covers its employees (when headline news occurs) then it shows transparency. On the other hand, some viewers and readers may question if there is an agenda involved.

Obviously, working for ESPN allows Gruden some level of control over the information being released. It wouldn’t be ridiculous to assume that he or someone in his camp would feed the company information. Or ESPN could possibly even demand they get the information first since they are the cutting Gruden’s current paycheck.

It’s an odd situation that most news organizations don’t have to face because most don’t employ the same people they once covered.

Of course, this is what makes ESPN unique for the good and for the odd.

One thing is for certain, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson is NOT smiling here. Anderson got huffy and stormed out of a postgame interview after a reporter questioned him about smiling and chatting with teammate Deuce Lutui on the sidelines during an embarrassing 27-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

The audio may not be work friendly (I’ll transcribe portions here below).

Reporter: “I don’t mean this to be sarcastic, or pointed, but that went out on Monday night television, and a lot of fans are talking about it right now as a big problem with this team. Can you put into context what was going on at that moment, and what caused you to …”

Anderson jumps in: “What Deuce and I talk about is nobody else’s business.”

Anderson: “OK, that’s fine. That’s fine, that’s fine, that’s fine. That’s fine. I’m not laughing about it. You think this is funny? I take this [expletive] serious! Real serious! I put my heart and soul into this [expletive] every single week!”

Reporter: “All I’m saying is that the cameras showed you …”

Anderson: “I’m’ just telling you right now what I do every single week! Every single week! I put my freakin’ heart and soul into this, I study my ass off! I don’t go out there and laugh! It’s not funny! Nothing’s funny to me! I don’t want to go out there and get embarrassed on Monday Night Football in front of everybody!”

Reporter: “But that’s why I’m asking you …”

Anderson: “I’m telling you right now! We were talking! Deuce and I were talking!”

“You k now one of the things I don’t like to see walking down the sidelines is the demeanor of the players on your bench when you’re playing bad. When you’re down 18 points and you’ve had five first downs, I want it to bother you. I want it to really bother all of us.”

Jon Gruden went on to say that’s something he doesn’t want Anderson’s teammates or the Cardinals fans to see.

Personally, I think we should all congratulate Derek Anderson for finding anything to crack a smile about during that atrocious loss. Sixth consecutive loss. No touchdown passes. Playoff possibilities? Gone, just like Anderson’s future with the Cardinals.

Buddy the Beagle seems nervous about tonight's Monday Night Football game between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals. He said tonight's winner will be ...

Buddy the Beagle should be in a festive mood after correctly picking the Chargers to beat the Broncos last week on Monday Night Football. But this dog seems tired and pensive heading into tonight’s showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.

The dog says this week’s Monday Night football winner will be …

P.S. You can follow Buddy on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. You can also follow along on his adventures throughout the entire NFL season. Here’s a recap of how he has fared, with links back to his earlier predictions.

Tonight's Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers game on Monday Night Football has Buddy the Beagle excited. It gives this dog a shot at redemption after Michael Vick torched the Washington Redskins and Buddy's pick last week to drop him to 6-5.

But Buddy isn’t deterred. In fact, my dog is pretty excited about tonight’s Broncos vs. Chargers matchup on Monday Night Football (perhaps it’s because Tim Tebow is involved). So who will win this Denver vs. San Diego AFC West showdown?

Buddy says …

P.S. You can follow Buddy on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. You can also follow along on his adventures throughout the entire NFL season. Here’s a recap of how he has fared, with links back to his earlier predictions.